See Something More

"You can do it!" "Come on!" "We believe in you!" The girls in the dorm room next door could probably hear all our cheering and yelling through the thin walls. As our eyes were glued to the TV one night this past week, my roommates and I rooted for our favorite Olympic athletes. I'm a pretty big fan of the Olympic Games, so I've been watching the Olympics non-stop ever since they began. The more I watch the events, the more I find myself celebrating and yelling with the audience. With this, I have discovered that I'm not necessarily a supporter of the USA as much as I am a fan of the underdogs. I don't wish harm on the athletes from my country, but I find myself cheering for the contestants who are unlikely to win, far behind, or small names in the sport. Have you seen any of the Visa commercials during the Olympics? Most of the ones I have seen highlight a particular "underdog" and tell his or her inspirational story of unlikely s

Today was my seventh birthday! I may really be eighteen years old, but today I celebrate seven years in my relationship with the Lord. Actually, it would probably be just as accurate to say that today is also my anniversary. I may have never had a boyfriend, but today I celebrate seven years of spiritual marriage to my Jesus! February 23, 2003 marked a significant day in my journey with the Lord. On that Sunday evening seven years ago, I proclaimed to the world who I was going to live for, and I gave my life to Christ through baptism! It has been very special and meaningful for me today to reflect on the past seven years of my walk with the Lord, remembering the spiritual mileposts and praising God for all the things He has taught me, shown me, and done in me. Today has been a wonderful birthday! I got a letter in the mail, two birthday e-cards from my mom and aunt, several text messages from friends, and a free stack of pancakes from IHOP. (Okay, they were actually celebrating nationa

This morning, I heard the song of the spring birds for the very first time. It was the first morning that I stepped outside and felt the brush of spring in the air. Usually, the transition from winter into spring is so gradual that I hardly notice it, but this morning was different. When I heard the sweet twitters of the birds way up in the trees where the sunshine was just beginning to touch the world, I breathed in deeply my first breath of spring. I wanted to burst into song with those precious little birds! I had missed their melodies all through the winter, so I wanted to celebrate with them and join in their new spring song! With every season of my life, there comes a spiritual "theme" in my walk with the Lord. With spring in the air, the birds chirping, the grass growing, and the weather warming, I am reminded of the spiritual seasons of my life. With each passing day, God demonstrates that He has a journey marked out for me, a journey with many spiritual steps along t

Matthew 7:24-27 tells the story of the wise and foolish builders, a story that we've all heard since we were children. Maybe you even sang the song as you wiggled your fingers and performed the hand motions. "Oh! The rains came down as the floods came up! The rains came down as the floods came up..." It makes a cute Bible school story with catchy songs and colorful felt-board figures, but it's not so easy if you are actually in the middle of the storm. The real storm rips the color out of life, steals the melody from our love, and leaves us hopelessly surrounded by raging and unpredictable weather. "The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house." From above, the rains pelted the roof. From below, the streams rose with increasing intensity every hour. From all sides, the winds ripped and tore at every wall, every corner, and every crevice. From below, beneath, and all around. From every angle and every direction. Surrou

Last night I attended an eating disorder panel event that focused on raising eating disorder awareness and providing practical tips to approach and handle disordered eating. I would like to take the time in this post to give you a small list of links and articles that will encourage you in the same way that last night's program encouraged me. With eating disorders becoming as prevelant and dangerous as they are, it is time for us to become more aware and more involved in promoting healthy self-esteem, body image, nutrition, exercise, and faith. These resources will lead you in that direction. http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/nedaDir/files/documents/handouts/WhatIsEd.pdf "What is an Eating Disorder? Some Basic Facts" by the National Eating Disorder Association. http://www.truecampaign.org/ The True Campaign is a Christian program that emphasizes identity, beauty, and impact. It encourages women, young and old, to challenge the cultural ideals about beauty and image a

"Great idea!" Emilee shouted enthusiastically from her dorm room. I heard desk doors banging as she opened and closed them in pursuit of her dry erase board markers. "I have a whole bunch of different colors!" I heard Chelsea yell to me from the other room in our suite. We congregated in our tiny dorm bathroom with bright smiles, a slight spirit of rebellion, and markers in hand. "Are you sure it will come off?" All three of us stood in stillness, not wanting to be the first one to pop off the lid and officially make the first mark. "I'm positive! Kristen has written in her bathroom, and if our RA did it, surely we can, too!" With that proclamation, the lid to my lime green expo marker popped off and the "writing on the wall" began! The rest of the marker lids popped off and fell to the floor. The scent of Expo markers quickly filled the room. I plugged in my ipod and we sang along to upbeat tempos. Soon, our plain white tile walls

Today is the sixth day in February. To us, it might seem like an ordinary day, but did you know that February 6 is Ronald Reagan's Birthday? It is also National Frozen Yogurt Day, New Zealand Flag Day, and "Pay a Compliment" Day. If you search it online, you will find that every day of the year is some kind of holiday - whether it is a real holiday or just a silly one. The more I think about it, the more I realize how silly some of our holidays are. Take Groundhog day or April Fool's Day for example. Now, don't get me wrong. I love to celebrate holidays because they are fun and entertaining, but you can't deny that some of our holidays lack significance. In the Bible times, whenever God did something - a miracle, an answered paryer, a victory, or an act of mercy - His people would mark that day with a celebration. Passover is an example of this because it became a yearly holiday that marked the exodus from Egypt, which was a great spiritual victory! Since we h

There is a little saying that we use here in Arkansas: "If you don't like the weather, just wait five minutes." You just can't predict the weather. That's the approach I took last week when I heard that there was a chance of snow flurries during the weekend. Every winter around this time, the weather channel predicts a snow shower, but I always wake up the next morning only to find soggy ground and a quarter of an inch of ice pellets dusted on the deck. This time around, I didn't want to get my hopes up and crushed, but at the same time, I couldn't keep my mind from dreaming of a white snowy winter weekend! When the alarm clock's beep woke me up Friday morning, I sleepily sat up in bed. My mind automatically wandered to the upcoming events of my day - classes, assignments, and so forth. Suddenly, I remembered the forecast and my thoughts were stopped still in their tracks. I leaned forward in my bed toward the window and used two fingers to seperate th